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Robot (Netflix)
June Harris Scarecrow }} Robot is a main character on Netflix's Lost in Space. He develops a bond with Will Robinson, becoming his servant and later his friend. He is an amalgam of shapeshifting alien metal and organic thought patterns. The intelligently built extraterrestrial First Appearance on Resolute We first meet the Robot on the ship, Resolute, where it is attacking humans. Meeting Will Robinson After Will Robinson is separated from his father and wanders into the forest, he comes across the Robot's ship and its lower half. Will climbs a tree to get away from the unknown creature (the lower half of the Robot) and finds the upper half on the tree limb. The Robot is initially hostile towards Will (with his face lights colored red), but soon seems to lose energy and is "dying." A fire springs up all around Will and the robot and without hope, Will uses a string saw to cut the limb allowing the upper and lower halves of the Robot to be reunited. Moments later a fully connected Robot climbs up the tree, takes Will into his arms and carries him to safety. Once safely away, the Robot and Will assess one another. Robot holds out his 3 fingered limb to Will and scans the boy. He then morphs into a Human hybrid, so as to not be as threatening toward Will. His face lights have also turned blue at this time indicating a more passive temperament. Saving Judy The Robot then appears at the top of the hill walking down to the sunken Jupiter 2 ship with the Robinson family frantically working on freeing Judy from the ice. John initially assuming the Robot has hostile intent, holds a knife guarding his family. Will runs down exclaiming it is ok and the Robot will not hurt them. He then asks the Robot if he will help his trapped sister. The Robot holds his hands over the hole the family has dug and heats the surrounding ice (presumably with what were once hand lasers) Once fully melted he reaches in and pulls Judy out, freeing her from the ice. Once the family is huddled together, hugging Judy, Will asks for another favor. He asks if the Robot can do something to keep them from freezing. Again, the Robot holds out his hands and keeps the Robinson family warm all night long (mentioned earlier, the temperature will be at least -60). Helping the Robinsons The following morning, the Robot goes to the frozen ice and heating its body descends to the Jupiter 2. Working together, pumps are put in place and water levels lower throughout the ship. The Robot works to dry the top levels of the family's ship. At one point, John walks to the Robot and questions what it is. Later, John and Maureen head off to look for survivors of other Jupiter ships. John, not wanting to leave the Robot on the ship only with his daughters, invites Will to join him and his mother. When Maureen questions this, John says,"You don't get one without the other." Maureen indicates that she trusts the Robot because it saved her son and daughter and is helping with the ship. Behaviors which help build trust. While exploring, John hears a strange sound on the radio that Will recognized from his time spent in the forest. It is a sound coming from the Robot's downed ship. Maureen implores her son to have the Robot lead them back to the ship despite John's reservations. Once at the ship, Maureen and John enter. During this waiting period Will finds a baseball in his backpack (apparently placed there by his dad) and teaches the Robot to play catch. It goes well until the ball rolls under a piece of metal. Will struggling to get it is assisted by the Robot, who tries to move the metal arch. When he touches the metal, something happens. First, Robot's face turns to red lights and Will (also touching the metal) seems to establish a psychic link with it and sees through the Robots eyes, its attack on the Resolute. (This is probably the reason why Will can command Robot) At the same time, Maureen and John inside the ship are presented with a map of the stars and learn they are no longer in the Milky Way galaxy. When the Robot releases his touch of the metal, the map disappears and the psychic link is severed. Will afraid of what he saw runs away. The Robot follows after him. Will struggles to reconcile the images he saw with his apparent friend and protector determining that the Robot is no longer like that because he has no memory before the two met. Will asks the Robot to lift it's left hand and then right hand. Then he asks him to turn around and walk forward (which would lead him off a cliff). The Robot without hesitation complies, but Will stops him at the last moment, asking him to come back to him. As the Robot does, it kneels in front of Will in a tender moment. The Robot and Will reunite with John and Maureen and tell them they were exploring the surrounding area. As the family begins the journey back, a hail storm of metal (or stone) begins. The Robot lifts his arm above Will's head in an effort to keep him from getting hit. The family runs to a large rock that offers some cover. John and Maureen shield Will between them sharing a knowing glance, when Penny's radio signal finally reaches them. She tells them she cannot locate them due to the storm, but Maureen tells her to look for the light. The Robot has positioned himself above the family on the rock and emits a signal light from side to side. Once Penny arrives in the Chariot, the family scrambles in and the Robot walks to the back and climbs on. June Harris is rescued as the family returns to their ship, after she has left Don West. Once the family and June arrive back safely, June recognizes the Robot as the one who attacked the Resolute, but Will assures her that he is completely safe. Physical appearance Unlike previous iterations of the robot, the new robot is very different to its predecessors. Whereas the robot from the 1965 series and the one from the 1990s film traversed terrain on treads, this new robot possesses a full humanoid stature, capable of walking with two legs. He can transform his two arms into four and he possesses powerful energy weapons, which are fired from the palms of his hands. His face is a translucent material filled with millions of multicolored lights, an echo to the original "bubble-head" incarnation. Kevin Burns stated that the robot looks different for a reason, that the appearance reflects the world we are living rather than any sort of "political correctness" and that things change, evolve, and grow. Personality The Robot is not unlike a child. At first when seen, he is hostile, but over time he protects Will and helps him, primarily just because he is told to - he wants to help as repayment for Will saving his 'life'. He learns things at amazing speed, often just by looking at a new event once. He is protective of Will, and eventually more of the family, and slowly responds to them more and not just Will himself. During him being connected to 'Dr. Smith' he almost seems entirely distant and uncaring, only listening to her, until something makes him change - and then change again when he sees his friend in danger. "Friend. Will Robinson." When an animal he later cares for dies, he is shown mourning - grieving for it, displaying deep sorrow and regret - an animal or human trait, which many thought impossible of a mere machine. And he can also show great hatred. He may not understand things perfectly, but he understands enough to have emotion, a need to protect, help and survive. He seems to display emotion and thought through the many lights seen on his face. Although initially loyal only to Will Robinson, and later briefly to Dr. Smith, his experiences begin to change him. When the robot Scarecrow is injured, he refuses Will's request to pilot the Resolute to Alpha Centauri until they have helped Scarecrow, telling him, "No, Will Robinson." ("Unknown") Skills & abilities He possesses the ability to produce strong heat from his body, enough to melt ice. ("Impact") He is also, as is seen throughout the series, to learn new things nearly instantly. When simply observing John hammering metal rods into the ground for the sensor net and is allowed to help, the Robot simply pushes it down 'like a toothpick'. The Robot also grows to care, in its own way, not for just Will, but for others, wanting to help and protects its friends - and 'family'. Despite many seeing him as a threat, which he evidently is, he doesn't attack anyone unless provoked. He is both an advanced machine but like a child learning new things - just much faster than a child would. The Robot also has immense strength - it can bend titanium with little effort, carry things almost as heavy, if not heavier, than itself, and it can deal with hostile animals with ease, either using it's energy weaponry to shoot and 'melt' them, or just tear their jaws or bodies apart. When angered or enraged, he transforms into a many-limbed form capable of withstanding most attacks and dealing out punishing damage. ("Eulogy") Design The design of the robot is explored in the featurette "Designing the Robot" from the Season 1 home video release. Kevin Burns describes the robot as a protector, but also a child in that it's learning to be a human. Executive producer Zack Estrin stated that it designing the Robot, it had to be a number of things, including intimidating, but also having a soul and something people could connect to and be afraid of. To create the Robot, some of the greatest mechanical and creature designers from film and television were assembled. Matt Sazama described the process as being a big challenge, in terms of finding their own version compared with the original series robot. The Robot's glowing "face" was inspired by the lights of the original Robot. Appearances Gallery Robot Netflix.jpg|Season 1 LIS 204 production still 3.jpg|season 2 Season 1 OST Vinyl sleeve.jpg|Season 1 OST Vinyl sleeve The Robot's Spaceship.jpg|The Robot's spaceship Navigation Category:Netflix Characters Category:Alien Characters